SWINE DEPARTMENT. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

 THE DISEASES OF SWINE. 



HOG CHOLEKA, AND SWINE PLAGUE. 



These are two separate diseases, but resemble each other very 

 closely in their symptoms, and it requires an examination of the 

 internal organs after death to clearly distinguish between them. 

 They are not only similar in symptoms,, but in their effect upon 

 the bodies of diseased animals. It is not ,so important to the 

 stock raiser to know whether his hogs are dying of hog cholera 

 01* swine plague, as the agents which destroy the germs that 

 cause the disease in the one will generally destroy them in the 

 other. The difficulty of distinguishing between the two diseases 

 is, therefore, not a matter of much importance in controlling 

 them. It is important, though, to know that one or the other of 

 these maladies is present among the herd, because such knowl- 

 edge will lead us to adopt proper treatment for such infectious 

 diseases. 



The annual losses from hog cholera in the United States alone 

 must be very heavy, although all diseases of swine are called 

 cholera by most people, yet the researches of the Bureau of Ani- 

 mal Industry have shown that there is another disease, known as 

 swine plague, which is almost as common and fatal as hog chol- 

 era. Hog cholera and swine plague affect hogs in all parts of 

 the United States, and cause heavy lasses, estimated to reach 

 from $10,000,000 to $25,000,000 annually. 



Causes. Both hog cholera and swine plague are caused by 

 bacteria (vegetable parasites), which may be- easily identified by 



